Why Trade Justice?
Unfair trade rules rob poor countries of 1.3 billion pounds a day - 14 times what they get in aid.
What's wrong with trade?
- We believe everyone has the right to feed their families, make a decent living and protect their environment. But the rich and powerful are pursuing trade policies that put profit before the needs of people and the planet.
- For example, world trade rules force poor farmers in countries like Mexico to compete with giant American agricultural businesses whose subsidies average 14,000 pounds (US$20,000) a year.
- In countries like Zambia, poverty amongst poor farmers is rising as the country opens up agricultural markets to cheaper imports from abroad - told to do so by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
- At meetings of the World Trade Organisation - where governments get together to agree international trade rules - the European Union and USA send hundreds of delegates each to negotiate on their behalf. This compares to Haiti, the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere, with no delegate at all.
In the UK more than 50 organisations in the Trade Justice Movement - including CAFOD, Christian Aid, World Development and Friends of the Earth - are collecting votes to send to the Government. Other countries will gather votes targeting their own national leaders.
- The aim is to create such a surge of public pressure on politicians across the world, that they will rewrite the rules of international trade to fight poverty and protect the environment.
- Politicians depend on votes to keep them in power, so they will sit up and take notice when they are inundated by votes saying Trade Justice is important to their electorates.